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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The Hologram Dash Quickstart is a legacy tutorial published October 5, 2017. Hologram later announced that it had discontinued Dash manufacturing, so check whether the board is available and whether its SIM and cellular workflow remain compatible before buying hardware or depending on these steps. The discontinuation notice was a historical community announcement, not a current product-status page. The tutorial is still useful for understanding the basic cellular-IoT sequence: activate a SIM, connect and program a board, send a message to Hologram Cloud, then view or route it.
What you need to know before starting
The original guide uses a Hologram Dash development board, a Hologram Global IoT SIM, Hologram Cloud, Arduino IDE, and a standard micro USB cable. Its programming example is the Dash REPL. Hologram’s official Dash Arduino examples repository also documents the historical existence of Dash and Dash Pro sketches; it does not establish that the old hardware or workflow is currently available or supported.
The steps below follow the Hackster.io Hologram Dash Quickstart, published by Team Hologram on October 5, 2017. Its plan and connection guidance is historical: check current plan options, pricing, coverage, and service compatibility before activating a SIM.
1. Activate the Hologram SIM
- Create or sign in to a Hologram account and open the dashboard.
- Choose Activate SIM, then enter the identifier printed on the SIM. The 2017 tutorial says this ID is 18–22 digits.
- Select a data plan and zone. The tutorial suggested pay-as-you-go for someone unsure of expected usage; treat that as advice from 2017, not a statement about current plans or prices.
2. Prepare the Dash safely
- Power the board off before inserting the Global IoT SIM.
- Snap the antenna connector onto the board’s u.FL socket.
- Remove the Dash from conductive packaging foam before applying power.
- For USB-powered setup, connect a standard micro USB cable to the board and a PC. The tutorial describes USB as providing power, program loading, and serial communication.
Battery warning: The tutorial says the Dash is configured for non-battery power out of the box. Connecting a battery in that mode can damage the board. If using a battery, consult the Dash datasheet for the correct jumper settings before connecting it; do not assume the default configuration is battery-safe.
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3. Configure Arduino IDE and upload the REPL example
Follow the tutorial’s linked Programming and Firmware guide to configure Arduino IDE for the Dash, then upload the Dash REPL example. The Quickstart’s workflow uses the IDE to load the example and the serial monitor to issue a command.
4. Send the first cloud message
Open the Arduino IDE serial monitor and enter this literal command:
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cloud send "Hello Hologram!" REPL_MESSAGE
Here, Hello Hologram! is the message payload and REPL_MESSAGE is its topic. The success text shown in the tutorial is Sending message... Complete.
5. Check the message and route it elsewhere
Verify it in the dashboard
Open the dashboard’s Logs page and look for the message. The 2017 tutorial estimates that a newly activated SIM can take up to 15 minutes to connect. If the first message is missing, wait briefly and send another.
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Forward messages with Cloud Services Router
The tutorial demonstrates an email route in Cloud Services Router. It subscribes to _SOCKETAPI_ to match all device messages, adds an email address and subject, then tests the route by sending another message. The guide also describes routing to SMS or HTTP/web applications. Its broader point is that the cellular-to-cloud pattern can apply to other cellular devices and messaging approaches, but the exact setup depends on the hardware and service in use.
If the Dash does not appear as a COM port
A March 2018 Hologram community discussion concerned a Dash Rev E after a firmware update. In that thread, a reply attributed to Reuben advised: “Make sure your sketch calls Serial.begin() or the COM port won’t show up.” Another reply said Rev E programming uses HID, so selecting a serial port is not required to load a program. These are narrow, historical observations about that board revision and setup; they do not establish how every Dash revision or current Arduino IDE version behaves. See the Rev E COM-port discussion.
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How the original workflow fits together
The Quickstart’s core chain is: Dash → cellular connection through the SIM and network → Hologram Cloud → dashboard logs or a routed destination. It is a useful conceptual introduction even when a maker is evaluating different cellular hardware, but do not assume a replacement board, antenna, SIM, or current service will work with the old instructions without checking compatibility.
Hologram’s May 1, 2017 onboarding-kit post is additional historical context about Dash and the onboarding kit; it is not confirmation of present-day availability.
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